Chapter 1 Guardiola is Annoyed

Seeing Pepe score the goal, Guardiola was stunned for a moment before realizing that the person who scored for Liverpool was not Chen Hero, but Pepe!

That Pepe from Real Madrid!

That Pepe who was especially energetic when playing against Barcelona!

Then he became very annoyed.

He was annoyed not because Pepe scored the goal, but because he suddenly realized what deviation this goal would cause to his plan—his team would no longer be able to leisurely pass the ball in the backcourt, then pull Liverpool's defense apart, waiting and looking for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

Because Barcelona had no time or conditions to do so.

They had to equalize the score as soon as possible!

Liverpool was the team best at playing after taking the lead, as could be seen from their performance in the Premier League in the past few seasons. They would launch a fierce attack at the beginning, score a goal, and then calmly play their defensive counterattack.

At that time, Liverpool would be even less afraid of Barcelona passing the ball back and forth outside their defense. No matter how Barcelona passed the ball, they would stick to their defensive positions, not attack rashly, and not panic. Then Barcelona would not be able to find a gap. If they couldn't find a gap and wanted to launch a strong attack, they would need a strong center forward, but neither Villa nor Messi was suitable for this task...

So, in order to prevent the game from sliding into this abyss, the team must equalize the score as soon as possible to force Liverpool to continue attacking.

But to score quickly, there would have to be more forward passes, and the overall rhythm of the team would have to change, becoming more forward-oriented instead of passing sideways and backward. In this way, the rhythm of the game would be brought up, and Liverpool would certainly be happy to see that happen!

But there was no way around it...

Damn it!

Guardiola felt annoyed at the thought that all of this was caused by that goal. Before the game, he was so focused on how to stop Chen Hero from scoring, especially in corner kick defensive tactics, where he regarded Chen Hero as the top priority, completely forgetting that other Liverpool players also had the ability to score, especially Skrtel and Pepe, who were excellent at headers...

Unconsciously, he had fallen into a misunderstanding, being too deeply influenced by Chen Hero.

He shook his head, pulling his thoughts out of this influence.

※※※

After the game restarted, Barcelona did launch a fierce attack on Liverpool's goal, while Liverpool retreated to defend and played a defensive counterattack.

But this time, they greatly underestimated the power that Barcelona unleashed when pushed to the brink!

This team was, after all, a powerhouse that once swept across Europe. Even if it was not as good as before, the difference was limited.

When Barcelona attacked with all their strength, Liverpool's defense line was actually a bit shaky!

Martin O'Neill was no longer sitting on the coach's seat, looking like he was in control. He got up from his seat, stood on the sidelines, folded his arms across his chest, and stared nervously at the field with a frown.

He didn't expect Barcelona's all-out attack to be so powerful!

When the game had just started, Barcelona had also attacked, but they hadn't scored, so he felt that Barcelona's attack was nothing more than that, not as powerful as it was in the videos. Either the editing techniques had enhanced the impression of Barcelona's attack, or this Barcelona team was not as strong as the previous one...

But now he knew he was wrong. This Barcelona was still very strong!

※※※

After conceding the goal, Barcelona had caused their fans to sigh and look dejected.

But now, they were like they believed in Chun Ge (an internet meme symbolizing resurrection), all resurrected on the spot with full health and status. They cheered wildly in the stands, and the Barcelona fans in front of the TV were no less enthusiastic.

The air above the Gazprom Arena suddenly belonged to Barcelona.

Liverpool fans naturally joined Zenit fans in booing, but helplessly the situation was stronger than people. At this time, Barcelona's attack was too fierce, and everyone had a faint worry in their hearts, so that the booing didn't seem so imposing.

Under Barcelona's fierce attack, they finally equalized the score seven minutes after conceding the goal.

This was a very typical Barcelona-style goal.

Continuous passing and quick cross-running finally confused Liverpool's defense, revealing a gap.

Then Iniesta sent a beautiful and precise through ball, and Messi appeared at the right time in the gap of Liverpool's defense, catching the ball and breaking into the penalty area.

At this time, the cheers of the Barcelona fans in the stands almost lifted the roof of the stadium, even the boos of Liverpool and Zenit fans combined couldn't suppress their soaring momentum!

Messi entered the penalty area and was still facing the goalkeeper alone. What did that mean?

Everyone knew!

It should be known that Messi was the top scorer in La Liga this season, scoring a total of forty-seven goals in the league!

"Messi! Messi! Messi—" The Catalan commentator's facial muscles were trembling with excitement.

Facing the onrushing Reina, Messi calmly shot low, and the ball went through Reina's legs!

Reina only felt a chill under his crotch, a gust of wind blew past, and the next second, he turned around and saw the ball already in the goal...

"Beautiful goal! Messi! He equalized the score for the team! He equalized the score for the team before the end of the first half!"

"Worthy of being Barcelona! They only trailed for seven minutes before regaining their vitality!"

"This is truly a classic Barcelona-style goal! Through a series of beautiful passes, they finally broke through Liverpool's defense! The game is going to be good now!"

The commentators shouted excitedly. They were not the official Liverpool club commentator, Harry Levy. They didn't have to cheer only for Liverpool. As long as it was good for the game, they welcomed it. For example, Barcelona's equalizer would definitely make the game more exciting, which was the best for them neutrals.

※※※

Seeing Messi spread his arms after scoring, his expression slightly ferocious with excitement, many Liverpool fans in front of the TV fell silent.

This person was still so powerful...

They thought Chen Hero was already very powerful, but they didn't expect Messi to be no less impressive. At least so far in the final, Chen Hero had not scored, but Messi had scored.

He was in good shape.

This was the biggest concern for all Liverpool fans.

If Messi was in good shape, he could threaten Liverpool's goal.

What if this wasn't his last goal of the game?

At this time, everyone turned their attention to Chen Hero.

There were still five minutes left in the first half. Should they call his name?

What could five minutes do?

If both sides slowed down the pace, these five minutes would pass quickly, and nothing would happen.

Five minutes wasn't enough for a goal.

Suddenly, a burst of exclamations rang out from the crowd!

This exclamation quickly spread to the stands of half the stadium, where all the Liverpool fans were.

After the exclamation, everyone roared madly, "Hero—!!"

Their roars were like a surge, sweeping the entire field, even suppressing the cheers of the Barcelona fans celebrating the goal!

Because all the Liverpool fans saw the tall figure standing in the center circle, raising his right fist high!

Every Liverpool fan was very familiar with what this action meant!

It represented a man's promise, it represented a Liverpool player's vow to them!

But this time, he didn't let the fans speak first.

Because their hearts were connected.

I know what you're thinking, and I'll help you make it happen.

That's what Chen Hero wanted to tell those cheering fans.

※※※

In this sudden surge of excitement, the Zenit fans were a little confused, wondering why the Liverpool fans seemed so happy after conceding a goal.

Were these poor English people confused?

Pavlov pulled Phil Jackson, who was cheering next to him, "Hey, are you guys crazy? Why are you cheering after conceding a goal!"

Phil Jackson turned around and smiled at him, looking genuinely happy, not pretending, and not showing signs of being confused.

"Hey, I forgot to tell you... Did you see the gesture of Hero raising his fist?"

Pavlov nodded.

"That means he knows our wishes and made a promise—no matter how difficult it is, he will definitely do it!"

"Then what are your wishes..."

"Finish the first half with a lead!" Phil Jackson said decisively, startling Pavlov.

There were only five minutes left in the first half. Finish the first half with a lead? That meant Chen Hero had to score a goal in the remaining five minutes, and Liverpool's defense couldn't concede a goal at the same time...

He now felt that these Liverpool people were really crazy... Asking Chen Hero to score a goal in five minutes? That was too difficult! And Barcelona had just scored, and their morale was high, making it even more difficult to score...

How was that possible?

He didn't continue asking, and Phil Jackson couldn't be bothered to continue explaining. He rejoined the ranks of cheering for Chen Hero.

The sky above the Gazprom Arena resounded with a unified shout: "Hero! Hero! Hero!! Hero!!!"

All the Liverpool fans suddenly stole the limelight from Barcelona. Everyone in the stadium, the audience in front of the TV, and the commentators couldn't understand why the Liverpool fans' reaction after conceding a goal was cheering instead of holding their heads in frustration.

This shouldn't be a normal reaction...

Some people also noticed Chen Hero's raised arm.

But they didn't know what it meant.

Perhaps some people knew, but they couldn't let more people know.

So everyone except Liverpool fans felt that the sudden cheers were strange.

Pavlov, as someone who knew the inside story, felt that they were all crazy...

But this strange situation had an unexpected effect—suppressing Barcelona's momentum.

The Barcelona fans had just started cheering after seeing Messi score, but they were abruptly interrupted by the shouts of the Liverpool fans.

Barcelona's straight-up momentum was thus inexplicably hit.

For Barcelona, this was truly an undeserved disaster...